Oak Park and River Forest police reports-April 15-21

A woman told police she was approached from behind as she boarded a bus by a male approximately, 16, wearing a dreadlock wig with gold tips. As she was stepping onto the bus, the young man removed her iPhone and wallet from her person, as three other young males stood around laughing. The group fled eastbound on Division Street. Estimated loss was $500.

Borrowers fail to return iPhone

Two men approached a woman sitting on her front porch in the 100 block of North Taylor Street around 3:40 p.m. and asked to borrow her iPhone. When she gave the phone to one of them, the two fled eastbound on Ontario Street. Estimated loss, $409.

Give me your wallet. Or not

An unknown man, estimated age 20, approached a Berwyn man on the Blue Line Austin platform in the 700 block of South Austin Boulevard and said, "Give me your wallet." The victim walked away and the offender fled the scene eastbound on the next train.

Shoplifting

Police arrested a 45-year-old Chicago man, April 16, for allegedly shoplifting at the CVS in the 300 block of Madison Street. He was charged with retail theft and held for bond hearings.

Police arrested a 24-year-old Chicago man, April 14, for allegedly shoplifting at Old Navy. He was charged with retail theft.

Converter theft redux

More Pontiac Sunfires were relieved of their catalytic converters, overnight April 15-16, while parked in the 800 block of Lake Street and 400 block of South Lombard Avenue. The last week of March, 12 catalytic converters were removed in Oak Park, cut mostly from parked Sunfires and Chevy Cavaliers.

Vandalism, break-ins

Oak Park police arrested a 27-year-old man from the 900 block of Wenonah Avenue as he reportedly attempted to break into a residence in the 1300 block of North Kenilworth Avenue, April 15. That same day, a resident in the 900 block of Wenonah reported someone had climbed through a basement window and removed a wedding ring valued at $400.

Someone used a house key, removed from under a front porch mat in the 500 block of Belleforte Street, to enter a house and damage three sections of drywall, the afternoon of April 16.

Someone broke into a residence in the 600 block of Belleforte during the day, April 17, by prying open the front door. Antique gold and diamond jewelry worth $25,000 was removed.

Someone entered a residence in the 700 block of South Harvey Avenue, overnight April 17-18, and removed a laptop and external hard drive and a purse containing credit cards and cash. Estimated loss was $1,099.

A condo in the 1000 block of Randolph Street was entered during the day, April 18, when someone pried open the front door lock. Removed were a laptop, purse and miscellaneous jewelry. Estimated loss was $3,400.

Garage thefts

Unlocked garages in the 1100 block of North Taylor Avenue and 800 block of South Ridgeland Avenue were burglarized, April 17 and 19. Someone pried open the side service door of a garage in the 1000 block of Gunderson Avenue and removed a woman's bicycle.

Vehicle crimes

A parking permit worth $315 was removed from the back window of a vehicle parked in the 1100 block of Ontario Street, April 13.

An unlocked vehicle was ransacked in the 1100 block of South Oak Park Boulevard, overnight April 14.

Someone removed a black and silver Coach purse from the back seat of a 2010 Toyota parked near Ascension School in the 600 block of Van Buren Street around 4:40 p.m., April 16.

Someone peeled off the registration sticker from the rear license plate of a vehicle parked in the 100 block of Ontario Street sometime between April 14 and 17. Loss was $20.

A blue 2008 Chevrolet HHR turned up in Oak Park in the 100 block of Iowa around 2:20 a.m., April 17. It was reported stolen to Chicago police on April 8. No arrests were made.

A 2001 white Chrysler Voyager, reported stolen from the 1100 block of South Humphrey Boulevard, April 15, was recovered on April 17 by Chicago police who arrested two people in the 5300 block of West Gladys in Chicago.

Someone took clothing, food, and a child seat from an unlocked car parked in the 400 block of South Scoville Avenue, the evening of April 17. Estimated loss was $600.

Someone ransacked an unlocked car in the 700 block of South Harvey, overnight April 17-18, and removed a GPS device and a woman's wallet. Loss was estimated at $205.

Bike theft weather begins

A wheel was removed from a bicycle locked to a rack in the 1100 block of North Boulevard during the day, April 16. An unlocked bike was removed from the 200 block of Madison Street, April 14.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports filed April 15-21 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public's help in making an arrest.

Never thought of scoring my stickers so that they cant be reused. You would think the fact that it has the license plate nnumber of the car its assigned to on it would be enough

joe from south oak park

Posted: April 23rd, 2014 11:10 PM

might be easier said than done muntz. say i show up at the scrap yard with my pickup and a bed full of copper gutter. the scrap yard dealer asks where i got them and i tell him that i finally swapped out to a leafless gutter. what is he going to do? call the village and confirm that i got a building permit?

muntz

Posted: April 23rd, 2014 12:50 PM

It seems like the Chicagoland area has seen an epidemic of Cavalier/Sunfire catalytic converter thefts. Naperville had 7 stolen from Cavaliers in one day last year. What does the scrap yard owner say when someone pulls up with a truckload of converters? Not suspicious in the last bit? These are the same guys accepting copper gutters, most of which would be re-used and not scrapped. What will it take to hold scrap yards accountable?

joe from south oak park

Posted: April 23rd, 2014 11:24 AM

removing a parking sticker isn't always about reusing it. Sometimes folks do it for 'fun' or just to hassle someone. part of the reason why I bought a garage space.

David Hammond from Oak Park, Illinois Facebook Verified

Posted: April 23rd, 2014 9:56 AM

Registration stickers can apparently be reused. We thwart such theft by scoring ours with a razor blade -- if someone attempts to remove it, the sticker will fall apart (which doesn't help us, but it doesn't help thieves, either, who if they notice the scoring, won't even try to remove the sticker).

Foomer

Posted: April 23rd, 2014 9:25 AM

Wow removing stickers off of cars? What is the point of that, you cant re-use the parking stickers its just a huge pain for the victim